Earlier this month, the Delaware District Court announced that with the exception of initial pleadings, all electronic transmissions of documents (including, but not limited to, motions, briefs, appendices, and discovery responses) must be completed by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in order to be considered timely filed and served that day (a copy of the Court's standing Order can be found here). Last week, in an open letter to the bar, Chief Judge Stark emphasized that the deadline applies to every filing and service deadline in every case in the District of Delaware and that parties will not be permitted to alter the new deadline on a case-by-case basis (a copy of the letter can be found here). This follows Chief Judge Strine's comments at the 2014 State of the Judiciary Address concerning work-life balance and Making It Easier To Be A Lawyer And A Good Spouse And Parent (the State of the Judiciary Address can be found here, see page 14). To our readers, what are your thoughts on the trend towards a 6:00 filing deadline? Is there any downside?
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